Detachable footrest for converting a foldable beach chair into a recliner

ABSTRACT

A detachable footrest for converting a foldable chair into a recliner, including: (a) a base having a platform portion with a substantially planar surface and an extender portion extending away from the platform portion; (b) a mount attached to the end of the extender portion for detachably clamping the footrest to an elongate frame member of the foldable chair; and (c) a support for supporting the platform portion with the substantially planar surface disposed horizontally above the ground when the mount is detachably clamped to the elongate frame member. Also, an apparatus including the detachable footrest and the foldable chair and a method for using the footrest and a method for transporting the footrest and the foldable chair together.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patentapplication 63/318,876, filed Mar. 11, 2022, the contents of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a footrest that can convert a chairinto a recliner. In particular, the invention relates to a footrest that(a) is configured to convert a foldable beach chair into a recliner and(b) that is foldable and easily transportable with the beach chair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typically, a beach chair comprises a seat portion and a frame forsupporting the seat portion above the ground when the chair is unfoldedand in a configuration for seating. The frame typically comprises anelongate frame member covered with fabric and disposed horizontallyabove the ground at a frontmost part of the seat portion with the chairin the unfolded configuration. With the chair in the unfoldedconfiguration and a person seated with his or her buttocks in the chair,the person's legs extend beyond the elongate frame member at thefrontmost part of the chair and are not supported by the chair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a detachable footrest that canconvert a chair such as this into a recliner that supports the person'slegs above the ground, which in the case of a beach chair is coveredwith sand. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the footrestcomprises:

-   -   (a) a base comprising a platform portion with a substantially        planar surface and an extender portion extending away from the        platform portion with an end of the extender portion spaced from        the platform portion;    -   (b) mounting means attached to the end of the extender portion        for detachably clamping the footrest to the elongate frame        member with the chair in the unfolded position; and    -   (c) support means for supporting the platform portion with the        substantially planar surface disposed substantially horizontally        above the ground when the mounting means is detachably clamped        to the elongate frame member;        wherein, with the mounting means detachably clamped to the        elongate frame member and the support means supporting the        platform substantially horizontally above the ground, the        extender portion spaces the substantially planar surface a        desired distance from the chair that enables a person sitting on        the seat portion of the chair to support his or her legs on the        substantially planar surface so that his or her legs do not        touch the ground.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the base is pivotablewith respect to the mounting means from an extended position, in whichthe mounting means extends from the base in a direction away from theplatform portion, to a folded position in which the mounting meansextends toward the platform portion of the base such that, with themounting means clamped to the elongate frame member of the chair, thebase can be pivoted from the extended position wherein the platformportion is spaced a distance from the chair to the folded positionwherein the footrest lies flat atop the seat portion of the chair with atop surface of the base resting on the seat portion. With the footrestin this latter position, when the beach chair is folded from theunfolded position to the folded position, the beach chair can be foldedatop the footrest to sandwich the footrest between the seat portion anda back portion of the beach chair, and the beach chair and the footrestmay then be transported together as a single unit.

In still another preferred embodiment of the invention, the mountingmeans comprises (i) a rod or tube that passes through an opening in theend of the extender portion of the base in a direction transverse to alongitudinal axis of the extender portion, and (ii) a plurality ofC-shaped clamps, one at each of end of the rod or tube, that areconfigured to detachably clamp onto the elongate frame member of thechair to hold the footrest in place. A pair of caps, one at each end ofthe rod or tube, can be provided to secure the tube in the end of theextender portion. The clamps can hold the footrest in place with thebase pivoted to the folded position and with the footrest resting flatatop the seat portion of the chair, as discussed above, or with the basepivoted to the extended position with the support means supporting theplatform portion with the substantially planar surface disposedhorizontally above the ground. It may be appreciated that the footrestmay be configured such that the substantially planar surface can only besupported by the support means horizontally above the ground when themounting means is clamped onto the elongate frame member of the chair.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the support meanscomprises a plurality of legs that are pivotable with respect to theplatform portion between a plurality of positions including a firstposition in which the plurality of legs lie substantially flat againstan underside of the base, a second position in which the plurality oflegs forms a first angle with respect to the base and a third positionin which the plurality of legs forms a second angle with respect to thebase that is different from the first angle. Each of the first andsecond angles will preferably be between 80° and 110°. The provision ofmeans to change the angle of the legs with respect to the base enables auser of the footrest to adjust the height of the platform portion abovethe ground/sand. Thus, when the angle between the base and the legs is90°, the platform portion will be at a greater height above theground/sand than if the angle is less than or greater than 90°. Thisfeature is advantageous insofar as elongate frame members of beachchairs can vary in their height above the ground and the provision ofmeans to adjust the height of the platform portion allows the user toadapt the footrest to beach chairs with frames of different dimension.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the support meanscomprises a U-shape support comprising the plurality of legs and acrosspiece joining the legs. Preferably, the base is of generally Tshape with the extender portion forming the leg of the T.

In a still further embodiment of the invention, the platform portion andthe extender portion of the base are of unitary construction and thelegs and the crosspiece of the U-shape support are also of unitaryconstruction.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatuscomprising the detachable footrest according to any one of theabove-described embodiments and a foldable chair. Preferably, the chairis a beach chair and the elongate frame member of the beach chair onwhich the detachable footrest is clamped is of tubular shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of the footrest in a preferredembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the footrest in a preferredembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the relationship between the base ofthe footrest and a rod that is a component of means for mounting thebase to a chair;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing the relationship of the parts of thefootrest during their assembly;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the footrest in a folded positionclamped to a beach chair; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the footrest in an extended positionclamped to the beach chair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The above and other features and aspects of the invention are shown inthe attached drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings show the footrestas a whole in bottom and top perspective views respectively. Thefootrest comprises a platform portion 12 with a substantially planarsurface and an extender portion 14 that can extend away from theplatform portion with an end 16 of the extender portion 14 spaced fromthe platform portion 12 when the footrest is in an extended position.The footrest 10 further comprises a mount 20 for mounting the footreston a chair in either the extended position (see FIG. 5 ) or a foldedposition (see FIG. 6 ), and a support 18 for supporting the platformportion 12 above the ground with the footrest mounted on the chair inthe extended position.

FIG. 3 shows the base 2 of the footrest 10 and a rod 1 of the mount 20configured for passing through an opening 40 of the extender portion 14of the base 2. As shown in FIG. 4 , in addition to the rod 1, the mount20 comprises a pair of clamps 4 each of which comprises an opening 22for securing the clamps 4 to respective ends of the rod 1 and a pair ofcaps 5 for securing the clamps 4 to the rod 1 in a manner that allowsthe mount 20 to pivot with respect to the base 2 to any of a pluralityof different positions. The clamps have C-shaped openings at endsopposite to the ends of openings 22 for detachably clamping the mount toa tubular frame of a beach chair (see FIGS. 5 and 6 ).

As shown in FIG. 4 , the support 3 may be of generally U-shapecomprising a pair of legs 32 and a crosspiece 34 joining respectivefirst ends 33 of the legs 32. Second ends 35 of the legs 32 can beprovided with pins 37 that protrude from the respective second ends 35of the legs 32. An underside of base 2 can be provided with brackets 40having openings 41 in which the pins 37 of the legs 32 can be insertedto mount the support 3 to the base 2 in a manner that allows the support3 to pivot with respect to the base 2 to any of a plurality of desiredpositions.

FIG. 6 shows the footrest 10 attached to a beach chair 50 with thefootrest in an unfolded configuration in which the beach chair 50 isconverted into a recliner and ready to support the legs of a usersitting in the beach chair. As shown in FIG. 6 , the base 2 of thefootrest 10 is in an extended position with the platform portion 12spaced from mount 20 and with the mount 20 pivoted to a position inwhich it can be clamped to a frame 52 of the beach chair 50.

FIG. 5 shows the footrest 10 clamped to the beach chair 50 in a foldedconfiguration with the base 2 of the footrest 10 resting flat atop theseat portion 56 of beach chair 50 and ready to be transported with thebeach chair 50. As described above, with the footrest 10 in this latterposition, when the beach chair 50 is folded from an unfolded position toa folded position, the beach chair 50 can be folded atop the footrest 10to sandwich the footrest between the seat portion 56 of the beach chair50 and a back portion of the beach chair 50 (not shown), and the beachchair 50 and the footrest 10 may then be transported together as asingle unit.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described, itwill be evident that various modifications and changes can be madethereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the following claims.

1. A detachable footrest for converting a foldable chair into arecliner, wherein the chair comprises a seat portion and a frame forsupporting the seat portion above the ground when the chair is in anunfolded configuration, the frame comprising an elongate frame memberdisposed horizontally above the ground at a frontmost part of the seatportion with the chair in the unfolded configuration, wherein with thechair in the unfolded configuration and a person seated with his or herbuttocks in the chair, the person's legs extend beyond the elongateframe member at the frontmost part of the chair and are not supported bythe chair, the footrest comprising: (a) base comprising a platformportion with a substantially planar surface and an extender portionextending away from the platform portion with an end of the extenderportion spaced from the platform portion; (b) mounting means attached tothe end of the extender portion for detachably clamping the footrest tothe elongate frame member with the chair in the unfolded position; and(c) support means for supporting the platform portion with thesubstantially planar surface disposed horizontally above the ground whenthe mounting means is detachably clamped to the elongate frame member;wherein, with the mounting means detachably clamped to the elongateframe member and the support means supporting the platform horizontallyabove the ground, the extender portion spaces the substantially planarsurface a distance from the chair that enables a person sitting on theseat portion of the chair to support his or her legs on thesubstantially planar surface so that his or her legs do not touch theground.
 2. The detachable footrest according to claim 1, wherein thebase is pivotable with respect to the mounting means from an extendedposition in which the mounting means extends from the base in adirection away from the platform portion to a folded position in whichthe mounting means extends toward the platform portion of the base suchthat, with the mounting means clamped to the elongate frame member ofthe chair, the base can be pivoted from the extended position with theplatform portion spaced a distance from the chair to the folded positionwith a top surface of the base resting atop the seat portion of thechair.
 3. The detachable footrest according to claim 2, wherein themounting means comprises (i) a rod that passes through an opening in theend of the extender portion of the base in a direction transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the extender portion and (ii) a plurality ofC-shaped clamps, one at each of end of the rod, that are detachablyattachable to the elongate frame member of the chair.
 4. The detachablefootrest according to claim 3, wherein the support means is pivotablewith respect to the platform portion between a plurality of positionsincluding a first position in which the support means lies substantiallyflat against an underside of the base, a second position in which thesupport means forms a first angle with respect to the base and a thirdposition in which the support means forms a second angle with respect tothe base.
 5. The detachable footrest according to claim 4, wherein thesupport means comprises a U-shape support comprising a plurality of legsand a crosspiece joining the legs.
 6. The detachable footrest accordingto claim 5, wherein the base is of generally T shape with the extenderforming the leg of the T.
 7. The detachable footrest according to claim6, wherein the platform portion and the extender portion of the base areintegrally formed and the legs and the crosspiece of the U-shape supportare integrally formed.
 8. An apparatus comprising the detachablefootrest according to claim 2 and the foldable chair.
 9. The apparatusaccording to claim 8, wherein the chair is a beach chair and theelongate frame member is tubular.
 10. A method comprising: (a) providingthe apparatus according to claim 8, (b) pivoting the base of thefootrest from the extended position with the platform portion spaced adistance from the chair to the folded position with a top surface of thebase resting atop the seat portion of the chair; (c) folding the chairfrom the unfolded position to a folded position with the footrestsandwiched between the seat portion and a back portion of the chair; and(d) transporting the chair and the footrest together as a single unit.11. A method comprising; (a) providing the apparatus according to claim8; and (b) converting the chair into a recliner by clamping the mountingmeans to the elongate support frame of the chair and using the supportmeans to support the platform portion of the chair with thesubstantially planar surface disposed horizontally above the ground.